Flux Time
"There’s only one way I can fix this! It might work, it might not. If it doesn’t, then it’s been a pleasure and… I’m sorry that I got us into this." Story Synopsis The TARDIS experiences turbulence in the vortex and rides it back to its source, only to discover something very interesting. LONGBOW, a predecessor to UNIT, and a squadron of Ice Warriors fighting tooth and nail for control over an Ancient Egyptian city hidden away in the Grand Canyon. However, questions arise as soon as the time travelers arrive. Why does everyone keep getting peculiar feelings of déjà vu? How does LONGBOW know all about the TARDIS crew without having met them? And just who is the Keeper of the City? Continuity * This story takes place soon after The Ride of the Headless Horseman and six months after The East India Incident. * Whitney has never seen Star Wars, which is shown in Classical Cinema courses in the 39th century. Zacharias had never heard of The Princess Bride prior to finding Whitney with it in the library. * The TARDIS is put into temporal orbit and Zacharias explains the term, though mentions "it doesn't seem necessary" (The TV Movie). * LONGBOW was first mentioned in the novel Just War, where it was explained to have been shut down after failing to prevent the Second World War. This incident seems likely to have factored into that decision. * The Ice Warriors were previously referred to earlier in the season (The Wooden Planet). * The Ice Warriors are noted to have performed cartographic missions of Earth (or "the Blue Planet" as they call it) in the past. Rassal previously led one of these. * Sub-Commander Kaalyr is interesting. He self-indentifies as male and has a masculine voice, but is mistaken for a female by Colonel Prescott (though this may be a case of "all those X look the same"). He is further noted as having a dorsal crest, which is described elsewhere (Transit, GodEngine) as being present only on female Ice Warriors, used for sexual display like human breasts. (Unlike human breasts, it is clear that this crest evolved explicitly for sexual display, and was not merely sexualized later on by cultural perceptions.) It would appear that Kaalyr is an early-transition female-to-male transgender, and that Ice Warrior culture has no problem with such things. (For more information, see Production Notes below.) * Major Carrington's reappearance in Episode Two, including explicit reference to his death, is rather inexplicable. However, it is conceivable that this may be another loop wherein things went similarly but Carrington didn't die, and he has died at Rassal's hand so often that he just knows Rassal's the one who did it. That said, Whitney and Zacharias's shock by his revival indicates this is not the case. There is a possibility that he could be from another loop entirely and dropped into this one using a time-traveling device (perhaps one of the TARDISes), but this is sheer supposition. * At the end of this story, the Doctor is stranded on Earth without his TARDIS. This section is incomplete and currently under construction. Production Cast DOCTOR WHO: Scott D. Harris WHITNEY ANDERSON: April Sadowski ZACHARIAS COBB: Caith Donovan COLONEL PRESCOTT: Jason R. Wallace SUB-COMMANDER KAALYR: James P. Quick MAJOR CARRINGTON: River Kanoff RASSAL/THOTH: Matthew Toffolo PROFESSOR S.A. JORDAN: Rebecca Thomas G.E. KINCAID: Pete Lutz ICE WARRIORS: Ned Warren and James P. Quick LONGBOW TECHNICIAN: Abigail Warner LONGBOW GUARD: James P. Quick K-9: Matt "Timey" Clarke ANNOUNCER: Mindy Rast-Keenan Crew to be added Production Notes * It was intended for Sub-Commander Kaalyr to be female, but no one auditioned for the role. Deciding to take it upon himself to fill it, series showrunner James P. Quick stepped in, unaware that the "dorsal crest" remark was supposed to make it clear that Kaalyr was female. This was pointed out belatedly by writer George Maglio. In effect, Quick's taking of the role made what was to be a heterosexual female Ice Warrior into a homosexual trans-male Ice Warrior. * This story was written and recorded prior to The Ride of the Headless Horseman, with final edits on Episode Two being completed on December 27th, 2015. * Episode Two has the longest cold open (pre-titles sequence) of any CP Studios story to date, clocking in at 7 minutes, 12 seconds. Links to be added See also ditto